This is a recurring question our customers ask and we too asked ourselves this question when we first started developing docu tools. Our clients’ needs stand at the center of our company and we are therefore constantly searching for the best possible solutions for our clients. Our experience leads us to therefore recommend to use the docu tools Cloud as the best possible data carrier.

More information here:

What is the Cloud?

The ‘cloud’ is one of the most commonly used buzzwords of the last few years. Whilst the concept of the Cloud has existed for decades, today we understand the Cloud to be a vast quantity of data which can be accessed online via the internet. It is highly possible that you are already using a website that makes use of cloud storage. Social networks, e-mail providers and banks are, for example, companies that use a cloud storage solution to save your photographs, e-mails and other data.

Cloud-based products generally offer the following advances:

Quick Access

Cloud service providers have extremely high-performance hardware which enable quick access to data. For example, think back to the last time you shared a photograph on a social network, and how quickly this photograph was available to other users.

(Almost) endless storage

Your computer will have no doubt a large hard drive; however a cloud service provider has far more. You don’t have to think about how much free storage your computer has remaining. The Cloud solves this problem for you.

Sharing data

You can share data you save in the cloud if the person you are sharing it with has access to the same server. If your colleagues need access to documents and data outside the office, even abroad, then data can therefore be easily shared via the cloud.

What does that mean for docu tools clients?

Cooperation

docu tools places great value on cooperation: Multiple different project partners must be able to communicate efficiently. This is easiest via the Cloud because we ensure that you can invite project members and other docu tools users to your projects, to cooperate with each other on a project-basis.

You can invite the multitude of people, contractors and companies working on a construction site to your project, simply via e-mail. The people invited to a project can create their own docu tools account on any mobile device with internet access, then download the project and immediately start collaborating with you on your project.

Data volume

With docu tools it is possible to record a vast quantity of data quickly, and to always quickly find all data, even years later, which can be particularly valuable, for example, with warranty issues. In the past, when clients used to save their data on their own company servers, the amount of data generated was so vast, our clients incurred substantial costs to acquire adequate data storage facilities. With the Cloud we can offer our clients unlimited data storage at no additional cost.

Limited Service Costs

Hosting the docu tools software in your own IT infrastructure has the tendency to incur large Technical Support costs, as every company has different hardware and different setups. If, however, the software is hosted by the developer, then we can offer ‘laboratory conditions’ for the software, as the hardware settings are optimized by us. By creating coherent conditions for all clients we can limit service needs to the minimum.

Mobile Access

Documentation in construction and real estate requires having access to the correct data quickly and efficiently; access to data must always be possible via any electronic mobile device. If your data is stored in the cloud you can make use of this decisive advantage.

A quick and simple start

It is quick and simple to start using the software with a cloud-based storage solution. No technician or server hardware is required.

Server-Security

There are different types of security risks: So called physical attacks (‘hacks‘) relate directly to the server. The Cloud offers multiple security steps which protect your data far better than a local data storage. No server can offer 100% data security. However, the know-how, the experience, and especially the resources, to protect data from hacks are far more substantial and superior through a Cloud provider.

Software-Security

Attackers can target your software to access your data. With the servers we hire for our docu tools clients we are able to provide the best-possible conditions to protect the software against attacks. If, however, the software is installed on the server of our client, then we are not able to protect it from unwanted access. Furthermore, if the software is saved in the Cloud then it will always be at its most up-to-date level, which is not always the case with software saved on your own server. This can lead to great damage, as we have seen in recent attacks (e.g. ‘WannaCry’).

Amazon Security Cloud

docu tools saves all data on the Amazon Server in Frankfurt on the Main (Germany). All backups are also saved within the same region. No data therefore ever leaves the EU.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a market leader for data hosting and data centers, which were established to fulfil the security needs of demanding organizations (more about the Security of Amazon here).

Access to the Amazon data centers requires a multifactor authentication, each access is saved and regularly tested. Professional security staff is present 24h/7. A non-disruptive electricity supply prevents system failure, and each data center has generators as a backup. Here is a selection of some other Amazon Cloud Clients:

BMW Group

Europol

Novartis

Siemens

Deutsche Bahn

FC Barcelona

Pfizer

Spotify

Dow Jones

Kärcher

Philips

Unilever

Resumé

A construction process can only ever be as efficient as the decision-making process of all parties involved. The limited access to data dramatically hinders communication and cooperation which is necessary for punctual and accountable decision making.

Projects with a multitude of different parties require a seamless project coordination, precise data, and the continuous access to necessary data for all parties. The use of cloud technology is for those types of application, and therefore ideal for a software like docu tools.

The use of docu tools in the Cloud is therefore technically and commercially the best possible solution.